Dhiana “Dyen” Anggraeni (MSW '17)
Papua, Indonesia
Dyen is a highly accomplished and experienced child rights practitioner and advocate that works as a Child Protection Officer for UNICEF Indonesia. She works specifically in communities in Papua, a more rural and secluded island of Indonesia.
Dyen’s work across many of Indonesia’s islands, including the capital city of Jakarta, has exposed her to the country’s many different services and resources, but she finds a gap in support and partnership between formal government institutions, faith-based services, and more informal, usually local, grassroots organizations. Dyen dreams of creating a more integrated network of support for vulnerable children, using her talents at systematic thinking to explore ways to connect all social services across the many islands.
Dyen is hopeful that Social Work can be acknowledged as a more formal and legitimate actor to lead and facilitate change across the country, particularly from governmental institutions. She sees great potential in applying the holistic approach of the Social Work perspective that connects networks and affiliates of resources to collectively support vulnerable populations.
Even in the United States Social Workers must often advocate for themselves in their own communities, advertising the skills, expertise, and tools that can be offered by practitioners across diverse organizations and sectors. Dyen feels similar to her Asian and African colleagues regarding her home country’s lack of cultural support and understanding of the Social Work profession. During the GML International Conference, she and her peers explored how to uplift and make valuable the Social Work field in their communities, brainstorming how to advocate for both Social Work professionals as well as the profession itself.
As Dyen finds herself asking, “Who will lead this country in 20 years?” one significant challenge she notes is the limited number of formally trained social workers in social services and programming. Recently a training school has opened for Social Workers and Dyen hopes to explore creating potential internship opportunities or creating other opportunities for bringing Social Work students to more rural communities. If there is anyone is up to the task of changing her country’s mind on the power and promise of a Social Worker, it’s Dyen.